Monday, February 27, 2012

Dardenne Brothers - Le Gamin au Vélo (2011)

I have never seen a Dardenne Brothers movie before, this was the first, but I've decided to watch soon the other Dardenne Brothers movies that are waiting aside. Le Gamin au Vélo (The Kid with a Bike) is far away from exaggeration, a realistic, emotionally charged, saddening film. It shared the Grand Prix in 2011 Cannes Film Festival with Nuri Bilge Ceylan's Once Upon a Time Anatolia.

The movie leaves us alone with a desolated child: Cyril. He is not getting tired for a moment, trying to understand the world of adults, looks to the life with the purity of a child. Cyril is very simple hearted, but has been convicted to lovelessness by his father. He is desolated. His father is a man that doesn't even carry the maturity of Cyril.

Cyril can be considered, in a sense, "lucky". Samantha (performed by Cecile de France), who lives in the neighbourhood, protects him. She takes him from the orphanage, where he's left by his father, and hosts him at her place during the weekends. She becomes his window to the outside world. Being unprotected and desolated, Cyril is dragged to other dangers in the streets. He is traveling around with his bike all the day. Cyril is looking for someone, someone who can love him, who can care him...

The movie also became a good occasion for the discovery of a young actor: Thomas Doret. I think the power to keep this movie strong was the choice of this little actor. If another actor was chosen, it feels like the movie will end up as another movie. Thomas Doret was apparently the fifth kid that Dardenne Brothers saw during the casting of the movie. When the simplified version of the first scene of the movie is given to him, Thomas expertly carries out his role. Dardenne Brothers immediately realize that they found Cyril. Thomas is definitely qualifies his character. He wraps himself in the character, the movie comes into existence with him.